Laziness is a disease and the first step toward recovery is admiting you have a problem. lol Enjoy!
Sandy had been gone for nearly a month, disappearing back out of Justin’s life almost as easily as she’d appeared. Nicole had started moving her things out of the apartment her and K had been sharing for the last few years a couple days ago, K had gotten more inclined to slip into long quiet moments. Britney called more often, but it wasn’t Justin’s phone she was calling. Making Justin wonder when exactly Keisha and Britney had become such good friends all of sudden, whenever he watched K answer her phone with a “Oh, hey Britney…wassup?”
All of the women in his life were changing and he didn’t know if it was for the better or not. But he knew one thing for sure, Keisha needed a new roommate and he knew just the person to fill the opening.
Okay, so all that lung collapsing crap I was blabbing about earlier - please erase that from your memory banks. I pulled a Justin and for that I’m sorry. I swear, all that boy’s whiney crybaby tendencies are creeping into my reaction repertoire. Of all the parts of his personality to rub off on me…why did I have to get the emotional ones?! Didn't I already have enough estrogen without adding in some of his?! Why couldn’t I get some of his confidence instead?
“Shit.” I grumble, stumbling into my apartment over a box which I’d forgotten I’d left there.
Forget confidence, why couldn’t some of his coordination rub off on me?
“You okay, Keisha?” Nicole called from behind me, struggling to restrain her laughter.
Of course she’d be right behind me to witness my moment of swan-like grace. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just figured the floor and me haven’t talked in awhile. And with me constantly walking all over it, I didn’t want it to start to feel underappreciated.”
“Uh-huh. Whateva you say, weirdo. But um, Jason’s doubled parked down there and there’s only one more box. One more trip…” She trailed off, glancing around the pretty barren room. “So at the risk of causing the poor floor to feel even more underappreciated. You mind getting up and giving me a hug before I leave?”
Sitting up, but still not standing up, I pulled my knees to my chest, hugging them to keep them close. My eyes on her shoes, I said, “Those shoes look familiar. Too familiar, like they used to live in my closet familiar.”
She laughed, glancing down at her own feet. “Well, I suppose they do, considering how that’s where they’ve been ever since I let you borrow ‘em months ago and you never got around to the returning part of when you borrow someone’s things.”
Rolling my eyes and standing with my arms crossed now, I said, “Right. And next you’ll be telling me that those earrings you’re wearing are yours too.” I smiled, despite trying to keep a straight face.
Nicole opened her mouth to protest, but closed her mouth without uttering a word. “K, you may think you’re slick, but let me be the one to tell you right now…you ain’t. I see right through your transparent ass.”
A few loud, impatient car honks pierced through the air. Walking over to the window, I pulled the blinds back slightly with my fingers just enough to catch the last time Jason laid on the horn.
“Guess you should be going.”
Narrowing her eyes at me, Nicole opened her arms. “Like I said before, Casper, I see right through you. And the more you act like you don’t care, the more obvious it becomes that you do. Now stop frontin’ and come over here and hug me goodbye, girl.”
Rolling my eyes, I took my sweet time ambling over to her.
“You know you gon’ miss me, girl.” Nikki laughed as she swayed us both back and forth.
“It’s hard to miss you, if you won’t leave.” I countered, grinning.
“Shut up.” She laughed, pulling away as she took a deep breath, before wiping her misty eyes.
Sniffling, I glanced at my toes that peaked out of my house shoes, thinking what color nail polish I should use on them next to avoid thinking about the impending goodbye.
Hearing the car honk-honk-honking again, Nicole moved toward the window. “I’m coming! Damn!” Nikki yelled out the window.
“Patience ain’t really his thang, huh?” I laughed.
“Not at all.” She sighed. “I’m gonna miss this place.”
“But not the person who still lives here.”
“Nah,” She laughed. “Definitely won’t be missing that bitch.”
“Forget you.” I frowned. Or rather tried to frown and would have succeeded if it weren’t for that pesky smile that took its place.
“We had some good times here over the last two years.”
“Yup, that we did.” I nodded.
“And some times when I wondered why we hadn’t gone for each others’ throats.”
I laughed, nodding. “Mmmhmm, I know that’s right.”
“Times when I wondered why we didn’t start charging Coral rent for how much her mooching ass was up in here.”
My smile drooped slightly at the mention of my ex-best friend, but since there was enough good to focus on, it didn’t droop too much without rebounding.
“And if we had, she would have just laughed and said ‘Girl, quit playing. You almost had me for a second there though. Almost had me scared enough to lose my appetite.’”
“Almost!” We said, in unison, laughing together for a moment. And for a moment the room was filled with two years worth of memories enough to make me forget just how empty it was without all of Nicole’s junk (aka furniture) to consume the space.
“Well I should leave.” She sighed, grabbing the last box. “Before that fool gets carried away on the horn again.”
“Alright.” I said, following her to the door and holding it open for her.
“You know that just because I moved out of the apartment doesn’t mean I moved outta your life.” She smiled. “Remember, I’m only one call away.” She sang.
“I know.”
“And your lazy ass betta come visit me.”
“I will.” I said, following her out to the car.
“And don’t miss me too much.” She laughed, putting the box into the back and shutting the trunk.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” I smiled.
“Bye stupid.” She said, rolling her eyes as she pulled me into another hug.
“Bye Nik.”
“You know the new number right?”
“Yes.”
“And you have directions to the new place?”
“Yes.” I said, closing the door after she’d finally slipped inside the vehicle.
“And you…”
Cutting her off and looking straight at Jason, I said, “Boy, what are you waiting on? Drive! Drive ‘fore she says something else! Don’t you know she’ll have us out here all night?!”
“Shut up, fool!” She laughed, rolling her eyes.
“Bye!” I said, moving away from the car, waving as I went.
I watched them drive away until the car was a speck on the horizon. Climbing the stairs and standing in the doorway of my nearly empty apartment all I could think was…
And then there was one.
“Do you like this house?”
“Why?” I said, frowning as I turned around to look at Justin from where I’d been sitting with my back resting against his chest. Tearing my eyes away from the screen, which was playing Brown Sugar “ a movie that I’d seen too many times considering how I could say the lines right along with the actors, something that always annoyed Justin which naturally only made me do it more. “Are you moving?”
“Just answer the question.”
“It has a roof, walls, a couple of doors and windows…” I trailed off, resisting adding a ‘you’ to that list. “So yeah, I guess I do like it.”
“You like the neighborhood?”
“Yeah I guess.” I said, becoming more and more afraid of where all of this was leading to.
“You like me, right?”
I thought to say no, just to mess with him and see what he’d say but the damn truth-telling side of my brain quickly said, “Yes.”
“On a crazy day you might even say you love me, correct?”
Laughing, I nodded, “Unfortunately I seem to have too many of those days. But, yes.”
Justin smiled then, clearly satisfied with my answer. “So what’s the problem then? Just move in with me and then you don’t have to worry about getting a new roommate.”
“If I move in with you…I will have a new roommate.”
“Yeah, but you know me.”
“Don’t remind me.” I groaned playfully.
“And you love me.”
“Yeah, yeah…stop rubbing it in.”
He laughed at that, before saying, “So when do you wanna move in?”
“Move in? Justin, you can’t be serious.”
“Why not? Do we need to go over the questions again?”
“No, we definitely don’t. But I’ve got some questions of my own for you.”
“Shoot.”
“But I haven’t any bullets?” I laughed. Justin just shook his head in that way of his which says “why do I love this freak?” Ah, well…yet another unsolved mystery for the universe to investigate.
“Just ask your questions.” Justin finally said, when after several minutes had passed and I still hadn’t said anything.
“If I asked you to sleep in the guest bedroom in order for me to move in would you?”
“Why would I ha---”
Smirking and shaking my head, I said, “No questions or comments…you already had your turn for that. Now if you will…just answer the question por favor.”
“I-I guess…yeah.”
“Humph. Well what if I asked you to…” I hesitated trying to think of something that would be a sure ‘no’ for him. “What if…what if I said you had to get a dog first?”
Shrugging, he said, “Then Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, or whatever other four legged new buddy of ours would move in.”
“Alright, then what if…”
Frowning, he cut me off before I could think of something, he said, “If you don’t want to move in with me that’s all you had to say.”
“Good.” I smiled. “I don’t want to move in with you.” I said and moved to leave, grabbing my jacket and heading for the door.
“Why not?”
Dear God he was whining. The twenty-two year old key feature of many women’s fantasies “ both young and old - Justin Timberlake was whining. Not that I’m surprised, I was just hoping I could get out before it started.
Turning around, I smiled at him suppressing my sigh. “Think of it this way, if we leave things as they are then you can continue to sneak those skanky blondes in here…and I’d never be the wiser.”
“They’re brunettes,” He said, rolling his eyes. “But seriously, why don’t you want to live with me?”
Putting on a serious face, I gave him a serious answer. “Because then it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun when I give out directions and keys to your house to all your fans. I mean, my stuff could get trampled.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that.” He replied, rolling his eyes.
“No, we most certainly wouldn’t. Now give me some sugar…I’m leaving.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes, that usually is the action that follows getting your jacket and walking toward the door. Or maybe I could just put my jacket on and admire your door for awhile. It is a lovely door.”
“Okay, smartass…leave.”
“Not without my sugar.” I said, puckering my lips up in the most unattractive way possible.
“If I’m going to kiss you, do you have to look like that?”
“Look like what?” I said, scrunching my face up even worse than before.
He laughed and I opened my eyes long enough to see that same “Why do I love this freak?” question in his sparkling eyes.
“Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight.” I sang.
“But we’re inside and it’s not twilight.”
“Stop trying to ruin this wonderful, magical moment…just kiss me dammit!” I laughed.
His lips took their sweet little time meeting mine, but it was definitely worth the wait. The kiss started off slow and gentle with a few closed mouthed pecks, before his tongue skillfully snaked out of his mouth, licking my bottom lip then trailing along between my bottom and top lip as if it was knocking before it entered.
His lips for some reason felt extra soft that night and he tasted like strawberries, which made me hungry when I realized I hadn't eaten dinner yet. And I must have tasted pretty sweet to Justin too, cause with the way he was hungrily kissing me now I could tell his appetite for me was strong.
My arms settled around his neck before my hands found their way to their favorite spot, as they cupped and massaged the back of his head. His arms already wrapped around my waist, pulling me in closer.
I felt the wall being pressed into my back “ or rather my back being pressed into the wall, as I started to wrap my legs around him, his hand creeping up my shirt, my thoughts beginning to drift towards the bedroom, just as he pulled away.
My eyes still closed, his warm hands still slightly under my shirt as he held me close, I heard him say, “That could be your goodnight kiss every night.” His lips ever so lightly brushing my ear while his warm breath sent a small tingle down my spine.
Damn. I don’t think that even Johnnie Cochran, rest his soul, could have come up with a better argument than that.
